Telecom rate war calls on ILD segment

TNN|

May 22, 2007, 01.06 AM IST

0Comments

NEW DELHI: In this season of telecom price wars, small wonder that another one is brewing in the international long distance (ILD) segment.

Bharti Airtel on Monday slashed its global calling card tariffs to Rs 1.99 per minute for calls to the US and Canada. The move comes only days after Reliance Communications (RCOM) had launched a similar initiative. And in keeping with the industry practice, other operators are likely to follow suit in the next couple of days.

The ILD segment is, incidentally, only hosting the latest tariff war in the country's ultra-competitive mobile phone market. Just last week, Bharti Airtel had also triggered a fresh battle at the bottom of the market by halving its lifetime prepaid services rate to Rs 495.

Within hours, RCOM introduced its lifetime prepaid card for Rs 499 with a talk-time of Rs 20. A day later, Idea Cellular and Hutchison Essar (HEL) also halved their lifetime pre-paid entry barrier to Rs 495. BSNL and MTNL are also set to follow suit.

Also, the cuts in ISD rates are likely to spark a similar tug-of-war at the premium end of the market. Calling cards offer a cheaper alternative for international calls. This is because, on an average, it costs Rs 7 per minute for calls to the US and Canada. Another advantage is that customers can avoid the hassle of paying high rentals or deposits to call abroad.